unprepared

adjective

un·​pre·​pared ˌən-pri-ˈperd 

: not prepared

was unprepared for class

… they were woefully unprepared to take on the responsibilities expected of them.

—Richard M. Ketchum

unpreparedness

ˌən-pri-ˈper-əd-nəs 

 also  -ˈperd-nəs

noun

Synonyms

• ad hoc
• ad-lib
• down and dirty
• extemporaneous
• extemporary
• extempore
• impromptu
• improvisational
• improvised
• off-the-cuff
• offhand
• offhanded
• snap
• spur-of-the-moment
• unconsidered
• unplanned
• unpremeditated
• unrehearsed
• unstudied

Examples of unprepared in a Sentence

an obviously unprepared acceptance speech by the surprise winner

Recent Examples on the Web

In the past year, America has suffered devastating cyberattacks, exposing infrastructure perilously unprepared for the digital age. —Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025

That allowed a rapid throw-in that caught Genoa unprepared, eventually seeing Kenan Yildiz dribble his way through the Genoa defence and firing beyond goalkeeper Nicola Leali. —Adam Digby, Forbes.com, 30 Mar. 2025

The repetitiveness of the game got monotonous at times, which left him unprepared for when things didn’t go according to plan. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2025

There shouldn’t be many issues that catch them unprepared. —Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1528, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing unprepared

• catch unawares/unprepared/by surprise

Rhymes for unprepared

• aired
• bared
• blared
• caird
• cared
• chaired
• dared
• erred
• fared
• flared
• glared
• haired